"Through a series of case studies of British and American sportsmen, Whannel traces the emergence of the sporting 'hero' and 'star', and considers the ways in which the lives of sport stars are narrated through the media. Focusing on figures like Muhammad Ali and David Beckham, whose fame has spread well beyond the world of sport, he shows how growing media coverage has helped produce a sporting star system, and examines how modern celebrity addresses issues of race and nation, performance and identity, morality and violence.".

"From Babe Ruth to Mike Tyson, Media Sport Stars demonstrates that, in an era in which both morality and masculinity are perceived to be 'in crisis', sport holds a central place in contemporary culture, and sport stars become the focal point for discourses of masculinity and morality."--BOOK JACKET.
Content: Introduction --
Discourses of crisis in masculinity --
The development of media sport --
Heroes and stars --
Narrativity and biography --
Sporting masculinities --
The birth of the sport star: pre-war fame --
Good boys: stars, nations and respectability in the 1950s --
Pretty boys, the 1960s and pop culture --
Bad boys and the work ethic --
Celebration, punishment, redemption and self-discipline --
Moralities, masculinities and violence --
Identities: 'race', nation and masculinities --
Performances, appearances, identities and postmodernities --
Vortextuality and conspicuous consumption --
Conclusion: so what if the poxy swan is the wrong way?
Abstract: With case studies from Babe Ruth to David Beckham, Garry Whannel considers how masculinity and male identity are represented through images of sport and sporting celebrity.